Year A – Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 26, 2026
Pastor Megan Floyd
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:18-25
John 10:1-10
Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Amen.
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The Common English Bible translation of John 10:10 reads, “I came so that they could have life – indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”
I share that… because I’ve often heard this verse misconstrued as promoting the acquisition of wealth and power. …choosing instead to understand Jesus to mean a “life of abundance” rather than… “abundant life.”
The abundance that Jesus has in mind… the fullness of life… isn’t a life of material wealth, but rather, it is a life that is full of love and intimacy with God, and with Creation… like that of the trusted companionship of sheep and their shepherd.
But this comparison of sheep and shepherds… and of Jesus being the gate to the protective enclosure of the fold… it doesn’t come out of nowhere…
Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, who have accused him of being against God after he healed the man who was born blind…
A man who proclaimed Jesus to be from God… and that Jesus must be the Messiah. He came to this conclusion after having worked out the only possible explanation of his miraculous healing… and for his proclamation, the Pharisees cast him out of their community.
And Jesus, ever the Good Shepherd, finds that man again… and returns him to the safety of the fold among his disciples.
Jesus protects him from those who would do him harm on account of his being a follower of Jesus.
Jesus is the shepherd who protects his flock, not for the sake of harvesting wool or mutton, but rather for the sake of the sheep themselves…
So the sheep may have lives that are flourishing… thriving… abundant… so we may have the very fullness of life.
And by identifying himself as the gate, Jesus proclaims that through him, the sheep will find protection from the dangers of the night, and in the morning, it is through him that they will go out to green pastures to find nourishment.
And we, who are the sheep, know and follow the sound of our shepherd’s voice… not because we are mindless, but because we recognize that our shepherd has our best interests at heart, and also, we rejoice and glorify God …and so we live in a relationship of mutuality with our shepherd.
The abundant life that Jesus longs for us to have… the fullness of life… is one that is full of love… full of grace and mercy… full of community that genuinely cares for one another and ensures that all are provided for and all are safe from harm.
The abundant life that Jesus longs for us to have is built on faith, which manifests itself as experiential love and trust, and shapes the way we live.
Yes, that…. That is abundant life…
It looks a lot like the community described in our reading from Acts 2… which gives the four marks of a faithful community: they are devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to sharing meals with each other, and to prayer.
And equally so, an abundant life looks like the trust proclaimed in Psalm 23… of being led to green pastures where no one goes hungry… of a cup that overflows so there is plenty to share.
An abundant life looks like pausing long enough to appreciate all God has done for us, and trusting that God’s goodness and mercy pursue us always.
Yes, that is abundant life… life lived to the fullest.
It’s a glimpse of what the full kindom of heaven looks like… a glimpse of what we are building as we live together as children of God, grounded in our faith… in our trust in God’s promise and provision.
I appreciate this glimpse of abundant life in our reading from Acts and the Psalms… but you might be wondering how the suffering that Peter writes about comes into play.
This one is difficult for our modern ears to hear, and we really should not hear it without also acknowledging the immense harm that has been done at the knife’s edge of these words.
This passage seems to glorify suffering and has led many to seek suffering. But moreover, it takes an even more chilling tone when we include the verse immediately before our selection… a verse our reading left off…
Verse 18… which is… “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.” …the text goes on, then, to talk about suffering for Christ.
I knew this woman who got married young and then found herself in an abusive and oppressive marriage. She had two kids and was torn between her drive to protect herself and her children… and her marriage vows, which she had taken seriously.
She consulted the pastor of her non-denominational church and was told… her suffering was for the Lord, and she needed to endure it. She was told her husband was her Lord and she needed to submit to him.
She was cast aside as less valuable in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the faith community… she was alone and full of shame. She tried to endure it for years…
But the violence was harming her children, and so she eventually left her husband… and the church… never having heard the promise that our Good Shepherd desires to protect us from harm… never having heard the promise from her faith community that her life mattered.
This is one of those passages that oppressive powers have used to justify their oppression… to keep themselves in power and to dismiss and even glorify the harm they perpetrate on others… all in the name of being a “faithful Christian.”
The woman I knew was one of countless wives across centuries, who have been abused and worse, and told they must endure. …and I’m willing to wager that many of you also know someone who was shamed into enduring harm, with scripture as the threat that kept them there.
This is one of those passages also wielded like a whip by people who kept other humans enslaved… they used these words to try and break the wills and spirits of those they kept in shackles… refusing to consider the one they held in bondage was, in truth, their brother… or sister… in Christ.
The twisting of these teachings, and the incredible harm that has been caused, and is still caused today… is heartbreaking.
But it can only be achieved by taking these passages out of context… and by not considering the population to which these letters were addressed.
You see, most of the early followers of Jesus were already enslaved… already living in servitude… marginalized and oppressed… and already enduring pain and suffering at the hands of those who held power over them.
It was NOT oppression in the name of being a “faithful Christian.”
It was oppression in the name of Empire… in the name of attaining and retaining power, wealth, and privilege… something that can only be achieved if you keep entire groups of people as a permanent underclass.
And so, these words… they were never intended to be a prescription to seek suffering… or to justify gross abuses of power… no…
These words were meant to be a lifeline… a message of hope that the harm you are already suffering is not all there is in life… that the Christ who suffered with you has defeated death and the grave… and offers you salvation.
The encouragement to endure is shared to strengthen the wills of those who are being harmed on account of their faith in Christ…
And so that they can make it to the next gathering of their faith community, where they are welcomed as equals… sharing together in the fullness of the life their community offers.
It is important to name all this “Because any interpretation of the Gospel which supports, justifies, or remains silent in the face of slavery and oppression… is not the Good News… and it is not the way of Jesus.” (Pulpit Fiction podcast)
So, for us to understand this text from 1 Peter, we must hear it in the fuller context of God’s promise of abundant life for us.
We must hear it alongside the promise of Jesus as our Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures…
And alongside the celebration of faith communities that share all in common, and are devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to community, to fellowship, and to prayer.
And we must hear it alongside Jesus’ promise that we will know the sound of his voice… and trust in his provision.
For Jesus Christ came so that we may have life… and have it abundantly.
Amen.